Car mover



NOV. 10, "1936. c PETERSON 2,060,526

CAR MOVER Filed Dec. 29, 1954 2 Sheets Sheet 1 Fig.7

awe/M1001 Carl E. PeTer-soh Gum/MW Nov. 10, 1936. c. E. PETERSON 2,050,526

CAR MOVER Filed Dec. 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ema/rm Carl E. Pe'ferson Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

My invention relates to carpushers for shifting freight and other cars on the rails by pushing them from the rear, its primary object being the provision of a car pusher in which a substantially continuous pressure is applied to the most effective position on the car wheel.

Another of my objects is the provision of a car pusher having a shoe and a jack with a pivotal connection therebetween.

Another of my objects is the arrangement of a shoe and jack with means for holding the shoe and jack in alignment with the flange of the car wheel.

Another object which I have in view is the mechanism for applying a thrust against the flange of the car wheel and in the direction of the line passing through the inner upper edge of the rail.

Another of my objects is the provision of a jack adapted to be supported on the rail and having a supplemental support in the form of a roller traveling on the median line of the upper surface of the rail to be automatically lifted from the surface of the rail after the beginning of the operation of the jack so that the jack will then rest on its main support.

Another object is the provision of a jack having a rocking support to be positioned transversely of the rail, the support being serrated for positively engaging the upper surface of the rail.

It is also my object to provide a support for a jack in the car mover, the support having a semi-cylindrical lower surface and having a downturned portion at its inner extremity, both portions of the support being serrated to provide positive engagement of the support with the top inner edge surface of the rail.

Another object of my invention is the application of a hydraulic jack'to a car mover, the hydraulic jack being of novel construction for specifically adapting it to use in moving cars.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the drawings, in which Figure l is a view in perspective showing the car mover in its operative relation to a wheel of the car and to the rail.

Figure 2. is a cross sectional view of the hydraulic pump jack, the sectional view being taken through the upper intake and exhaust valves of the pump cylinder and on the lines 2-2 of Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section of the pump jack on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view of similar vertical section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the under side of the rocking support for the hydraulic jack. 5

Figure 6 is a View in'rear elevation showing the hydraulic jack in its operative relation, the pump lever being omitted and the rail being shown in section.

Figure 7 is a plan view showing an inner toothed surface of the lifting fork.

Figure 8 is a view in rear elevation showing the shoe in its operative position, the rail being shown in section.

The car mover comprises a shoe A, a hydraulic l5 pump jack B having rocking and rolling supports, and a pivotal connection C between the shoe and the hydraulic pump jack.

The shoe is wedged shape and is adapted to slide in relation to both the rail and the car 20 wheel. The car wheel is provided with the usual flange ID on its inner periphery and the shoe is provided with a channeled portion II for receiving the flange ID. The shoe is also provided with one or more downwardly and inwardly inclined projections l2 as best shown in Figures 1 and 8. The shoe itself rests on the. entire transverse surface of the rail and the projections l2 bear against the inner upper corner of the rail as shown in Figure 8. 30

The hydraulic pump jack rests on a wheel or roller I3 which is centered with respect to the rail on which it travels. The hydraulic pump jack also has a rocking support M as shown in Figure 1, the structure of the under side of the 35 support being best shown in Figure 5, The support 14 is secured to or made integral with the body of the hydraulic pump jack. It is made of steel of suitable hardness and having a downwardly turned flange l5 as shown in Figures 1, 5 and 6. The under side is rounded and it is provided with teeth which bite into the rail so as to provide the proper frictional engagement with the railto prevent the slippage of the pump jack on the rail.

The hydraulic pump jack includes a forked member l6 which may be lifted by means of mechanism to be subsequently described. The fork of the forked member engages the flange ID of the car wheel as shown in Figure 1. It is inclined at an angle such that the thrust is on a line between the flange l0 and the inner upper edge of the rail, this thrust being along the line of the piston rod of the forked member. It will be obvious that when the forked member I6 is lifted when the parts are in the Figure 1 position, movement will be imparted to the car wheel. The first effect of the upward movement of the fork I6 will be to cause a slight pivotal movement about the pivot C to lift the wheel or roller I3 above the upper surface of the rail. At the same time there is a slight rolling movement of the jack on the support I4, this being possible without danger of slippage due to the fact that the under surface of the support I4 is toothed as shown in Figure 5. As fork I6 rises and as the jack is rocked slightly on its support I4, the angle of the fork relative to the car wheel is slightly altered. To prevent slippage between the fork and the car wheel, the inner surfaces of the fork are toothed as shown. in Figure 7. It should be noted that the lengths of the teeth in the fork I6 vary, the longest tooth being in its forward portion so that the gripping action increases progressively as the fork is being lifted.

The structure of the hydraulic jack is best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. This jack is provided with a jack cylinder I1 and with a pump cylinder I8 as best shown in Figures 2 and 4. The pump cylinder has a piston I9 connected to a piston rod 20. A lever 2I is pivotally connected to the piston rod and it is fulcrumed as at 22 to the casing of the hydraulic jack. The device is further provided with a lever extension 23 which is detachable from the lever 2|. Reciprocatory movement of the lever extension 23 will therefore be translated into up and down movement of the piston I9. Referring to Figure 4, the duct 24 leads from the bottom of the pump cylinder I8 to the bottom of the jack cylinder H. The duct 25 leads from the top of the pump cylinder I8 to a junction with the duct 24. The ducts 24 and 25 are provided with exhaust or discharge valves 26 and 21. It will be clear that the downward stroke of the piston I9 will force the oil out of the bottom of the pump cylinder I8 through the duct 24 into the bottom of the jack cylinder H, the valve 26 being opened by the pressure of the oil opposing the spring. During the downward stroke of the piston I9 the valve 21 is kept closed partly by the suction in the upper portion of the pump cylinder I8 and partly by the pressure of the spring. The action of the valves 26 and 21 is reversed on the upward stroke of the piston I9 but in both cases the oil is forced from the pump cylinder I8 into the bottom portion of the jack cylinder I'I.

Between the jack cylinder I1 and the pump cylinder I8 there is an oil reservoir 28 of irregular shape. The relation of the oil reservoir to the pump cylinder I8 is best shown in Figure 3. Upper and lower ducts 29 and 3!] connect the pump cylinder I8 with the oil reservoir 28. These ducts are provided with intake valves 3I and 32 respectively. On the downward stroke of the piston I9 the oil is drawn into the upper portion of the pump cylinder I8 through the duct 29 while the oil is being forced out of the lower portion of the pump cylinder through the duct 24. The action is reversed in the upward stroke of the piston I9, the oil being drawn into the lower portion of the pump cylinder I8 through the duct 36 while the oil in the upper portion of the pump cylinder is being forced out through the duct 25.

The piston rod 33 which carries the fork I6 terminates in a piston 34 in the jack cylinder IT. The oil forced into the jack cylinder H from -the duct 24 causes upward movement of the piston 34 and of the piston rod 33. The discharge valve 35 leads from the jack cylinder H to the oil reservoir 28. The discharge valve 35 is normally kept closed by spring action and by the pressure of the oil. Means are provided for automatically opening the valve 35 at the proper point in the upward movement of the piston 34. The slide 36 has a lower extremity which contacts with the valve 35 in a manner such that the upward movement of the slide 36 will open the valve 35. The lever 3'1 is pivotally connected at 38 to the casing of the jack cylinder I"! and it is connected to actuate the slide 36. When the piston 34 contacts with the lever 31 it imparts a slight rocking movement to the lever 31 which causes upward movement of the slide 36 to open the valve 35 whereupon the oil from the jack cylinder I'I will be caused to flow back into the oil reservoir 28 to allow the piston rod 33 with its fork I6 to fall to its lower position.

The lever 31 is apertured to embrace the piston rod 33. In order to permit only limited turning movements of the piston rod 33, this rod is flattened throughout a portion of its length as shown in Figures 2 and 4 and the aperture in the lever 31 has a form similar to that of the cross section of the piston rod 33 but slightly larger in diameter to permit limited turning movements of the piston rod 33 as well as slight rocking movement of the lever 31. When the notch on piston rod 33 contacts lever 31 on the downward movement, it causes lever 31 to push slide 36 downward thus allowing valve 35 to close.

In use, the parts are positioned as shown in Figure l with reference to both the car wheel and the rail. The action is imparted manually through the lever 23 to cause upward and forward movement of the fork I6. One of the first effects is to cause a slight rocking movement of the jack about its support I4 to slightly elevate the roller I3 above the rail. The rocking movement about the support I4 is not accompanied by any slippage since the teeth of the support are in firm engagement with the rail at both its top and inner side. The pumping action is continued until the fork reaches the heighth determined by the contact of the piston 34 with the lever 37. At this point the car wheel has been turned slightly and the fork I6 then falls to its lowermost position. The operator having hold of the lever 23 merely pushes the entire device forwardly and then continues the pumping operation. The action is thus continuous and it does not permit the car wheel to come to rest.

The use of the downturned portion I5 of the support I4 eliminates the complicated structures used in the prior car movers for resisting side thrust and preventing the lateral slippage of the jack. The thrust of the rod 33 is oblique, being upward, forward and inward and it is the inward component of the thrust which is resisted by the downturned portion I5. The arrangement of the downturned portions I2 and I5 is also important since railway tracks especially at the crossings and in towns are apt to be clogged with ice or with debris which accumulates after every rain. The flange II] of the car wheel presses a distinct groove in the ice or debris leaving a track for the downturned portions I2 and I5. These downturned portions are therefore arranged at an angle such that they will travel in the groove made by the flange II] as shown in the Figures 6 and 8.

The piston 20 is vertically centered over the rail and it is held in this position by the downturned flange opposing the lateral thrust of the piston rod 33. The piston rod 33, however, has an oblique thrust against the inner upper edge of the rail but the angle of this thrust changes direction immediately after the beginning of the pumping operation, the result being that the roller i3 rises above the rail leaving the jack supported entirely on the support 14. The bite of the teeth of the support l4 against the upper surface of the rail resists the forward component of the oblique thrust of the piston rod 33. As the angle of the piston rod 33 changes at the beginning of the jacking operation the support it is rocked slightly thus bringing other teeth of the support It into contact with the surface of the rail.

. .As above described the pump jack is a double acting jack to impart upward movement of the piston rod 33 with each stroke of the lever 23 whether that stroke is upward or downward. Because of the continuous operation of the piston rod 33 the car is not permitted to come to rest so that the momentum of the car is not lost. When the piston rod 33 is released, the operator merely pushes on the handle 23 to advance the position of the jack. Since this is done through the lever 23 which remains in the grasp of the operator, no time is lost in restarting the upward movement of the piston rod 33 to continue the movement of the car without interruption. This is important because while the forward movement of the car is very slow the momentum of the car is very great due to its weight. The operation being continuous, the advantage of the momentum is at no time lost.

The jack described is a hydraulic jack and my description refers to the use of oil. It is to be understood, however, that I do not limit myself to the use of oil or any other specific liquid which is suitable for the purpose. Likewise, numerous mechanical equivalents might be found for some of the elements of the mechanism which I have described and I therefore reserve to myself the right to the use to any or all equivalents of the elements enumerated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A car mover including a jack having a casing and a rocking support therefor, said support being substantially semicylindrical and having a plurality of serrations on its rounded under surface, a rod slidable relative to said casing and in the direction of its length, said rod lying within a straight line determined by points in the upper inner edge of a rail and in the flange of a car wheel, and a fork at the free extremity of said rod for engaging the flange of the car wheel.

2. A car mover including a jack operative against a rail to impart an upward and forward thrust against the flange at the inner periphery of a car wheel, a lever for actuating said jack, said jack being slidable on said rail, and automatically operated means for permitting said jack to collapse at the end of its upward movement whereby said jack may be slidably positioned in advanced position on the rail for a succeeding actuation of said jack to thereby cause substantially continuous and uninterrupted movement of the car.

8. In a car mover, a jackadapted for operation between a rail and the rear of a car wheel,

said jack including a lever for manual operation, said lever lying in the vertical plane of the median line of the upper surface of the rail, a slidable rod responsive to both the upward and the downward strokes of said lever, said rod lying in a plane determined by the peripheral edge of the flange of the car wheel and the inner upper edge of the rail, a serrated fork on said rod for frictionally engaging the flange of the car wheel, and automatically operable means for releasing said ro-d at the end of its upward movement whereby said jack may be shifted forwardly to be again actuated in its advanced position.

4. In a car mover, a hydraulic jack adapted for operation between a rail and the rear of a car wheel, said jack including a double acting pump piston and an actuating lever secured thereto, said lever being operable in the vertical plane of the median line of the upper surface of the rail, a jack piston and piston rod projecting forwardly and upwardly and toward the peripheral edge of the flange of the car wheel, said jack piston being responsive to the movements of said lever,

a serrated fork at the upper extremity of said jack piston rod, and means for releasing said jack piston rod at the end of its upward movement whereby said jack may be shifted forwardly and the car pushing operation may be resumed before the car is permitted to come to rest.

5. In a car mover, a jack and a base to be seated transversely on a rail, said base terminating short of the upper outer edge of the rail and having a downturned portion adjacent the upper inner edge of the rail, said jack including an elongated upwardly and forwardly and latally inclined lifting member operative in the plane determined by the upper inner edge of the rail and the flange of the car wheel, and means for imparting lifting movement to said lifting member, the downturned portion of said base bracing against the thrust of said lifting member and lying in the path of the wheel flange.

6. A car mover including a shoe adapted to be positioned between a rail and a car wheel, means on said shoe coacting with the flange of the car wheel for aligning and for maintaining the alignment between said shoe and the car wheel, a jack secured to said shoe in the rear thereof, said jack including a movable liftingmember inclined upwardly and forwardly from said jack in the direction of the flange of the car wheel and means for imparting lifting movement to said lifting member.

'7. A car mover including a shoe adapted to be positioned between a rail and a car wheel, means on said shoe coacting with the outwardly extending annular flange adjacent the inner side of the car wheel for aligning and for maintaining the alignment between said shoe and the car wheel, a jack pivotally secured to said shoe in the rear thereof and having a rocking movement on the rail, said jack including a movable lifting member inclined from said jack in the direction of the flange of the car wheel, and means for imparting lifting movement to said lifting member.

8. A car mover including a shoe adapted to be positioned between a rail and a car wheel, a jack pivotally secured to said shoe in the rear thereof, said jack having a rounded base for rocking movement on the rail, a supporting roller on said jack in advance of said base, said roller being positioned transversely of the vertical plane passing through the median line of the rail, said jack including an upwardly and forwardly inclined pushing and lifting member operative against the rear surface of the car wheel, and means for actuating said lifting memher, said roller being in contact with the upper surface of the rail during the initial operation of said jack and being elevated in response to the rearward rocking of said jack.

9. In a car mover, a jack having a wheel flange engaging part movable against the wheel flange in a direction upward, forward and inward of the rail, means for imparting said motion to the flange engaging part, and means engaging the inner side of the rail head to brace the jack against the thrust of the Wheel flange engaging part and following the path of the wheel flange along the inner side of the rail to insure a path free from road debris for said rail head engaging means.

10. In a car mover, a rail engaging member, a

jack, a wheel flange engaging member movable in a direction upward, forward and inward of the rail, means for imparting said motion to said member, and lugs on said rail engaging member and said jack lying at the inner side 01' the rail in the path of the wheel flange to hold against the lateral thrust of said flange engaging member and by following said wheel flange to have at all times a path free from ice and road debris.

11. In a car mover, a jack having an oblique longitudinal and inward lateral thrust for turning a car wheel, and means on said jack lying against the inner side of the rail to brace against the lateral thrust of the jack and lying in the path of the wheel flange to insure a path free from ice and road debris.

CARL E. PETERSON. 

